The Silver Fern

Re the TMO.

Can the TMO inject himself without being invited?

Yes, Uruguay 8 was offside, but it wasn't picked up on field.

I'm torn as to whether we got the correct result.

@nzzp said in RWC: Georgia v Fiji (Pool D):

@African-Monkey said in RWC: Georgia v Fiji (Pool D):

I'm still baffled as to how Fiji lost to Uruguay.

They switched off mentally, showboated, and didn't take them seriously. Uruguay tackled like their lives depended onit, and snatched every chance they got.

But yeah, the physical mismatch was remarkable

They were outpassioned I tells ya

It was a good solid effort tonight. Better work at the ruck and when they got a sniff they executed better than the Uruguay match.

@antipodean said in RWC: South Africa v Italy (Pool 😎:

Can't help but feel what's holding Italy back is that the majority of their players play for Italian clubs.

Apparently the forwards on the bench, according to one of the commentators, all came from the one club.

All the best domestic Italian players are from either Bennetton or Zebre as they play in the Pro14 so are playing at a higher standard than the Italian Top12. Looking at their RWC squad there are only 5 players who play outside of Italy (1 in France, 4 in England).

@Victor-Meldrew said in RWC: Ireland v Russia (Pool A):

They actually stopped hostilities in the Bekka Valley so the Hochar clan could harvest the grapes.

That is so - well - civilised.

"Would you please stop shooting at them? This is going to be a great vintage! Idiots"

"O.K. they seem to be done, ready, aim..."

@ACT-Crusader said in There should be two RWCs:

I was discussing this very thing a couple of days ago.

Something that football/soccer get right IMO is the qualification of the WC. It builds tremendous excitement and buy in from the fans. No team is ‘undeserving’ of being at the big show.

Football has much more depth and competitiveness across nations so it is easier to have pools within regions where you don't always know who will qualify. I remember when Aust and other tier 1 teams had to qualify for the 1999 RWC as there were only 4 automatic qualifiers from the 1995 RWC (1st, 2nd, 3rd and the 1999 hosts, Wales not England). They won that RWC, of course.

1999 Rugby World Cup – Oceania qualification - Wikipedia

Then the IRB changed it to the 8 QF teams from 1999 qualified for the 2003 RWC. The 2011 RWC was the first in which the top 3 teams from each pool qualified for the next RWC. Moving to 12 automatic qualifiers was probably just another example of the tier 1 nations looking after their own self-interests. At least with less automatic qualifiers we would see more tier 1 teams playing tier 2 teams on a home and away basis.

@Steven-Harris Both halfbacks are SA-born too. De Haas looks promising for a 20 yr old.

@ACT-Crusader said in RWC: Scotland v Samoa (Pool A):

@Billy-Webb said in RWC: Scotland v Samoa (Pool A):

@African-Monkey said in RWC: Scotland v Samoa (Pool A):

Lame way for Samoa to go out of the cup, and to think I gave them a shot before the game started haha. Scotland did what they had to tonight, but on that performance, I'd back the Japanese to beat them.

@antipodean said in RWC: Scotland v Samoa (Pool A):

Samoa looked like they hadn't assembled before this week. Made Scotland look competent and dangerous!

I'd also backed Samoa to have a shot today. But they just didn't seem to pitch up.

Was that the faint hope of a Springbok nation not wanting to play Ireland in a QF?

Not really. It was more a case of making for an interesting pool.
That pool is already a shoot-out, a Samoan victory would have made it even more so.

If we get Ireland in the QF so be it. Those knock-out games are going to be tightly contested, never mind who you face.

Watching Semi Radradra play, worth any money for the ticket.

Actually, another Fijian in Kerevi is probably 2nd behind him in the "watchability" stakes.

FANS WARNED TO BUY OFFICIAL AMID HUGE DEMAND FOR RUGBY WORLD CUP TICKETS

With huge demand, fans warned to purchase Rugby World Cup 2019 tickets via official sources only Fans can check whether their intended source is official at rugbyworldcup.com/buy-official Limited quantities of Rugby World Cup 2019 tickets are available at rugbyworldcup.com/tickets. Fans with tickets purchased through unofficial sources risk being denied stadium entry

Also posted in the "Judicial Happenings" thread:

Uruguay hooker Facundo Gattas suspended for 3 games

Uruguay hooker Facundo Gattas attended a disciplinary hearing on 1 October having received a red card from referee Wayne Barnes for an act of foul play contrary to Law 9.13 (dangerous high tackle) in Uruguay’s Rugby World Cup 2019 match against Georgia on 29 September. The independent Judicial Committee was chaired by Jean-Noel Couraud (France), joined by former international coach Frank Hadden (Scotland) and former international referee Jose Luis Rolandi (Argentina). The player sought to overturn the red card. Having considered all the angles of the incident, together with evidence from the player and his representatives, the panel upheld the decision of the referee. The committee considered the High Tackle Sanction Framework (HTSC) and decided the following: * The judicial committee did not accept that it was a passive tackle. For the committee, the action was more akin to a dominant tackle with a high degree of danger * There was a direct contact of the player’s left shoulder to the ball carrier’s head * There was no evidence that there is a significant change of direction from the ball carrier‘s running line until after the contact * The player was in an open space and has a clear line of sight before the contact * There are no mitigating factors Therefore, on the balance of probabilities, the panel did not find that the referee’s decision was wrong and the red card was therefore upheld. Given the above outcomes, the committee applied World Rugby’s mandatory minimum mid-range entry point, which was introduced in 2017 to protect player welfare, deter high contact and prevent head injuries. This resulted in a starting point of a six-week suspension. Taking into account the mitigating factors that are considered in relation to sanction, including the player’s clean disciplinary record, the committee reduced the six-week entry point by three weeks, resulting in a sanction of three weeks, which equates to three matches in the context of Rugby World Cup 2019. Gattas will miss Uruguay’s two remaining pool matches (against Australia on 5 October and Wales on 13 October) and the quarter-final at Rugby World Cup 2019 or should Uruguay not qualify for the quarter-final, the player’s next club match in his domestic competition. Therefore the player is free to play again on 21 October, 2019.

alt text

I've just reached out to the good folk at Austin Blacks Rugby, will see how I go.

@Bones I think you hope for some insightful comments from the comms team, and not just saying what Joe Blogs sees from his telly or down the pub.

@Duluth said in RWC: Japan v Ireland (Pool A):

@jegga

PotHale?

I think it's always been the same account, he just changed names

Absolutely correct, Duluth.

Reports of my demise have been greatly appreciated.

England aren't going to have any trouble with Argentina by the looks

@MiketheSnow said in Judiciary Happenings:

@antipodean said in Judiciary Happenings:

@MiketheSnow said in Judiciary Happenings:

Best I could find to date. Hit full screen.

Would love to see the reverse angle on that.

Intent is there. Connection?

Video

Definitely on the arm.

With his left hand yes.

would like to see what he's connecting with with his right hand uppercuts.

Nah. Unless there is another angle showing something else, you can let this one go Mike. From that angle it looks like a guy trying to free himself up from being illegally held back.

@Rapido said in RWC: South Africa v Namibia (Pool 😎:

The missed forward pass was disgusting refereeing. No excuse, was static ball from base of a ruck, no forward momentum to consider. Pathetic. Get better at your job.

I assume you mean the one from scrumhalf Jantjies that led to another Mapimpi try?

It was defintely backwards out of the hands - if you viewed it from the other side, while standing on your head, with both eyes closed...

Shocker of a missed call. I called it watching live as it happened. Clearly forward. Very surprised that at a minimum the TMO did not call it back.

Italy played well in attack but boy they were camped offside in defence.

Canadian rugby is in a hole and it’s hard to see them returning to their competitive state from the 90s.

Also posted in the "Judidial Happenings" thread:

England centre Piers Francis cleared to play - citing not upheld

England centre Piers Francis attended a disciplinary hearing on 29 September having been cited for an act of foul play contrary to Law 9.13 (dangerous high tackle) in England’s Rugby World Cup 2019 match against USA on 26 September. The independent Judicial Committee was chaired by Nigel Hampton QC (New Zealand), joined by former international coach Frank Hadden (Scotland) and former international player John Langford (Australia). The player admitted that he had committed an act of foul play but denied that it reached the red card threshold. Having considered all the angles of the incident, together with evidence from the player and submissions from his legal counsel, the panel determined that the act ought to have resulted in a yellow card on-field. Since the threshold for upholding a citing is ‘red card’, the Committee did not uphold the citing and the player is free to play again immediately. The Committee followed the High Tackle Sanction Framework (HTSF) in order to make its decision. The player accepted that it was a high tackle that made contact with the head of the opposition ball carrier. He also accepted that a high degree of danger was present. Following the HTSF, this results in a starting point of a red card. The Committee then considered whether mitigating factors should result in the sanction being decreased. The Committee decided that there was significant and sufficient mitigation to be found: * in the sudden change of height by the USA player immediately before contact. It was only at the time of that sudden change that the clear line of sight factor (against mitigation) came in to play and could become of relevance; and that line of sight factor, therefore, was somewhat limited in its application, and the weight to be given to it; * in that the Player, being in control of the tackle, attempted to avoid the opponent’s head by making a definite attempt to change his own height and his body position; * in the Player’s initial contact being with his own head on the ball carrier’s left shoulder (and which initial contact absorbed a large degree of force), with the Player’s left shoulder then slipping up to make indirect and minor contact to the ball carrier’s head, causing no apparent injury. The Committee weighed up the factors for and against mitigation and on the balance of probabilities, decided that the mitigating factors outweighed the factors against mitigation and so the appropriate on-field sanction was a yellow card. The citing was therefore not upheld. Home | Women's Rugby World Cup 2025 Home | Women's Rugby World Cup 2025

The official home of the Women's Rugby World Cup 2025 in England, with all the latest news, highlight videos, standings, fixtures, results, games, ticketing and event information

Oh good, first shot at a team of the week has someone out of position.

Face-palm emoji